Objectives: To determine the relationship between early childhood caries and feeding habits of 18-24 months old in Mitchells Plain district of Cape Town, Western Cape. Methods: One hundred and twenty children attending the well-baby clinic at Mitchells Plain Day-hospital were selected for the study. The participation was totally voluntary and consent forms were signed by accompanying parents/guardian. Children were examined clinically by a pre-calibrated examiner using WHO guidelines (Geneva 1997). Childs' height and weight, visible dental plaque on maxillary incisors and tooth status (sound, decayed, filled, extracted, or unerupted) were recorded. The parents/guardians were asked to complete a questionnaire to assess the feeding and oral care habits of their children. Simple descriptive statistics and correlation analysis tests were performed using a commercially available package SPSS 14. Results: Twenty five percent children were caries free. The average birth weight was 2.92 kg (± 0.67) with 12 children (20%) being < 2.5 kg. 86.7% (104) were breast fed from birth. The average duration of breast feeding was 12.6 months (± 7.5). There was a relationship between breast feeding and caries prevalence but it was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The children who were not breast fed had higher caries prevalence i.e. (43%) in non breast fed and 23% in the breast fed. Conclusion: 87% were breast fed and had lower caries prevalence than non breast fed from birth.
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